Spinal Cord Injury Information

I sincerely hope the information presented will be useful and help you and yours cope with this devastating injury.

If you do not find a subject shown here, please let me know and I will certainly try to research the information and present it on this website in continuing updates.

SCI INFORMATION, Hygiene

This important section is devoted to hygiene, and includes information and tips on daily and SCI specific hygiene, our skin and how to care for it, how to protect our skin from injury, suggestions for the alleviation and treatment of pressure sores, bladder and bowel programs.

Basic and SCI specific hygiene

  We all need basic daily hygiene. Dirt and grime, which normally contain different kinds of germs, settle on the surface of your skin. The total area of skin surface is approximately one square yard, which is a lot of breeding ground for tiny germs. Any cuts or scrapes of the skin will give these germs easy entry inside your body. Therefore, daily cleansing with soap and water by taking showers, tub baths, bed baths, or sponge baths is needed.

  For the SCI, sitting in a wheelchair all day long with frequent weight shifts doesn’t give air much of a chance to freely circulate in the groin area. Also, having your legs close together most of the day gives those normal body germs what they like most — a nice warm, dark, moist place to reproduce. And, if you’re wearing some sort of plastic or rubber urine collecting device, such as condom catheter, foley catheter, waterproof padding. or leg bag, the chance of making that breeding ground more enticing to germs increases.

SCI specific tips:

• Wash your groin area again before going to bed for the night.

• Air out your groin area at least once a day by getting into the frog position.

• Always thoroughly dry your groin area and in between your toes after bathing.

• If you like to powder, lightly dust some on your groin area. Be careful not to put on a lot. Too much powder can cake and cause lumps that could lead to pressure sores.

• Change or clean your urine collecting equipment every day. (See "Bladder Program.")

• If you are used to taking showers, try taking a warm tub bath once in a while if possible.

• For any dry skin areas, massage in some lotion to moisten it. Dry skin can crack and cause healing problems.

When doing nail care:

• Clean finger and toe nails daily.

• Keep your nails short for safety.

• Cut your nails straight across to prevent ingrown nails.

• Cut your nails after soaking them for 15-20 minutes or after taking a bath. This makes them easier to cut.

• Thick, horny nails may need to be cut by a podiatrist or clinic nurse.